On April 13, 1865, the 9th Michigan Cavalry Regiment was noted as being in Morrisville, Wake County (Turner 3-4). Depending on the route taken, the distance between Morrisville and the regiment’s last noted movement in Raleigh is 14+ miles (Google Maps). 

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The Union officially captured Raleigh on April 13 after Governor Zebulon B. Vance’s plan to surrender the capitol worked despite some trivialities including a lone Confederate officer shooting at General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, resulting in the injury of one Union officer and the hanging of the offender (Mobley). 

After Raleigh was secured, General Kilpatrick split his units leaving some to occupy Raleigh while the rest traveled to Chapel Hill (Mobley). While heading towards Chapel Hill, the troops engaged in a skirmish at Morrisville Station on April 13, attacking a Confederate train loaded with supplies and wounded soldiers (Morrisville History Center). General Kilpatrick's troops captured the train's supply car while the wounded soldiers escaped (Morrisville History Center).